System of telegraphing or telephoning to or from railway-vehicles.



No. 746,690. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.,

LEDGAR. SYSTEM OF TBLEGRAPHING 0R TELEPHONING TO OR FROM RAILWAY VEHICLES.

APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 29, 1903.

K0 MODEL,

L J Iii-1W UNITED STATES Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES EDGAR, WREXHAM, ENGLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,690, dated December 15, 1903.

' Application filed June 29, 1903. Serial No. 163,665. (lilo modeld To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that-I, JAMES EDGAR, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and aresident of Wrexham,in the county of Den bigh,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of Telegraphing or.

Telephoning to or from Railway-Vehicles, (for which I have applied for a patent in Great Britain, No. 23,333, dated October 27, 1902,) of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to a new or improved system of telegraphingor telephoning upon a railway, the object being to enable a person traveling upon a train to communicate with another person not on the train while same is in motion. For exa mple,the driver or guard of a train may communicate with a signalman or stationmaster or a passenger may communicate with his residence or private office while the train is in motion, and, if desired, the guard and driver of a train may communicate with one another.

The advantages of the system are many. For instance, in case of fog and the driver being unable to distinguish the signals the signalman would be able to communicate a message to the driver and give him the necessary information. Again, the system could be use fully adopted in case of a breakdown in the telegraph-system now invogue.

For purposes of illustration I will now refer.

to the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of my invention, certain details being removed for purposes of clearness. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the form of railway-chair employed, which is attached to the sleeper in the usual manner. Fig. 3 represents a sectional view through the tubing forming part of my invention, showingthe line-wire and con tactstud in position. Fig. this a perspective View, partly broken away for pu rposes of clearness, of a portionof the tubing and various details hereinafter referred to. Fig. 5 represents the tender of a locomotive, showing the pickingup device hereinafter referred to. Fig. 6 represents a plan view of a railway-crossing, the

- broken lines representing the tubing carried alongside the up and down roads.

In carrying out my invention I provide the deslred number of lengths of vulcanite or carried or supported by the railway-chairs b, I

one or more separate tubes being attached thereto, if desired, as shown in Fig. 2. With in the tubing at I provide the line-wire 0, preferably copper, which is connected to the desired telegraph or telephone instruments through themedium of contact-studs cl, having rather a large head, so that the line-wire 0 Will always be in contacttherewith,the wire lead 0' from the aforesaid instruments being attached, as shown in Figs. 3and at, by means of a pair of rings or clips 6 partly surrounding the tubing ct. These may also be utilized for the purpose of holding or fastening the lengths of tubing together, the connection between the line-Wire cand instruments carried by the engine, guards, van, orother portion of a train being made through the medium of a hook f or picking-up device attached to a suitablepart of the engine or other vehicle, as illustrated, and adapted to engage with a hole or loop g, formed at the top ofa metal sliding piece h, encircling and engaging with the linewire a.

Referring to Fig. 1, t'and j represent signal boxes or stations, 0 being the line-wire and 7c the railroad. The current may be derived from batteries or other suitable means in connection with the instruments either at "I; orj or upon the engine or other vehicle and, for example, flows from the signal box or station 1'- through the connecting-wire c to the linewire c, from which it flows to the instruments Z, carried upon the engine or other vehicle, by the sliding piece and connection afore described and represented in thisview by the flexible connection Z. In practice the flexible connection 1 would be connected with the instruments Z and to the hookf, as shown in Fig. 5, said hookf being suitably insulated from its operating rod and lever m and support n. The circuit is completed by way of the engine or other vehicle through their respective wheels to the railroad Zr andthence by earth return to the signahbox or station t. The instruments now in vogue are employed in connection with this system. It will be seen that in a similar manner the driver and guard of a train may communicate with one another, if desired.

In order to keep the line-wire 0 Within the tubing at, a series of springs 0, Fig. 4:, are attached to thetubing in pairs at the desired distances apart. These springs are so shaped that each pair remains in contact with one another, and so prevent the line-wire c from rising; but at the same time they allow the sliding piece it to freely pass between them as same is propelled along the line-wire by a train. In the case of points, crossings, or other complicated sections of a railroad the tubing a would be open up to acertain point and would then continue under the railroad, as shown in Fig. 6, where the broken lines represent the open tubing and the dotted lines that port-ion which passes under the railroad. In such cases it will be necessary for the driver or guard to disconnect the sliding piece h from the hook f and pick up a fresh sliding piece upon the other side of the crossing.

The tubing is provided with a series of perforations at the bottom thereof to prevent the accumulation of water therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- A telegraphing or telephoning system for railways comprising tubing of an insulating material supported alongside the rails and having an opening or slot at the top thereof, a line-wire contained within said tubing, contact-studs fixed within said tubing and to which the lead-wires from the desired instruments are attached, clips for holding said contact-studs and lead-wires in position, a sliding piece within said tubing encircling and engaging with the line-wire, a hook and picking-up device attached to the engine or vehicle and adapted to engage with the sliding piece aforesaid and operated by a suitable arrangement of levers, an electrical connection between said hook and the instruments carried by the engine or vehicle, all in combination substantially as described herein.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of April, 1903.

JAMES EDGAR. Witnesses:

W. R. WILSON, O. NERDO OWEN. 

